


His Parallel

by hyperstag



Series: Comets Drifting [1]
Category: Kamen Rider - All Media Types, Kamen Rider 555
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Alternate Universe - Space, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, but I'll write in other characters povs on occasion, but no faiz people are royalty, faiz spoilers are still mentioned, lots of monarchies and oligarchies, mentions of Yuka/Mari, other rider characters will pop up, so be careful, yuuji is the main character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-16 21:14:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28588608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hyperstag/pseuds/hyperstag
Relationships: Inui Takumi/Kiba Yuuji
Series: Comets Drifting [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2094837
Comments: 1
Kudos: 4





	1. Prologue

White.

White was the first thing he could make out when he woke up. The first few seconds had such a hollow feeling to them. Nothing was perceptible to him, not sound, not smells. Just white. When his senses started coming back, they cascaded through his consciousness. Far too fast, yet once the barrage was over he was back to that hollow exhaustion.

After a few rapid blinks, he noticed the tiled ceiling. The discomforting smell of chemicals floating through the air. A dull, subdued pain that felt like a hallucination. The weakness in his body, almost commanding in its constriction. Twitching the tips of his fingers was just barely possible, and he could only rely on his limited senses for any hints to where he was.

A white curtain, something tall just out of his peripheral, a large window to his right. It was bright out, he noted. The sky was a radiant azure, not a cloud to be seen, at least for him. No signs of any buildings or nature, not even of any ground, so he could gather that he was probably in some sort of high rise building. 

Eventually, he felt something cold just barely settle on the back of his hand after some more twitching. It startled him, but he didn’t have enough energy to flinch. This was strange… As an Orphnoch, he should be stronger than this, so why was he incapacitated to such an extent?

The last thing he remembered was… Chie. She… She was gone because he...

Right, after he’d had nowhere else to go, he was taken to the planet where Smart Brain Inc. ran their operations. A planet full of Orphnochs, supposedly all just like him despite having only become one shortly before his arrival. He’d been given the same instructions as every other Orphnoch: Infiltrate other societies and convert it’s denizens for the sake of Smart Brain’s aspirations of a galaxy fit for their king. Those who refused were purged.

He was able to live a relatively peaceful life for a short time despite being wholly against killing others. He was prodded for a short while before making friends who came to share his ideals. But his peace had only lasted so long. Eventually, he and his comrades were captured by Smart Brain, and…

Yuka and Kaidou were… what happened to them?

Any events after his attempted execution were hazy. He remembered suddenly being in a dark forest, looking up a tall, mysterious man who ushered him into some kind of vehicle. Then, a frantic doctor ushering him to stay awake, and.... 

White. Cold, unwelcoming white that did nothing to alieve the pit in his stomach or the lump in his throat.

He had to be at some sort of hospital, but where? Smart Brain had just executed him, and an Orphnoch living on another planet was punishable by death as well. He had nowhere else to go, so why was he here, alive?

“Where…” His voice was hoarse as he spoke. If not for his heightened hearing, he may not have even heard his own voice.

All his attempts to call for help were futile, he just didn’t have the energy to yell. That emptiness that he felt after he’d killed Chie was beginning to set in again, and in this state he had no way of escape. He’d have to wait until someone came. And eventually, he heard footsteps and distant chatter.

“Kiba, that asshole… When’s he gonna wake up, already? He can’t be too far gone, right?”

“He can’t be dead… I’m sure he’s fighting his hardest, even now.”

That was…

As the door to his room slid open, he mustered up what energy he had and desperately tried to cry out to them.

And he was finally heard.


	2. A Reunion's Reprieve

Distorted havoc was the only words Yuuji could think of to describe the last few hours he’d been through. Once Yuka and Kaido realized he was awake, the hospital staff took over, and the hysteria that had caused, in tandem with Yuuji’s already frail constitution, led to one of the most draining experiences he’d ever seen. Or the parts he was registering, at least. When the staff ushered Kaido out of the room, he’d flown into a fit. Yuka had to hold him back from throttling the young doctor who’d come to try and assuage him, and the man was far too slender and frail looking to be throttled.

After Kaido had been calmed down, though, things went much more smoothly. Yuuji was fed and, outside of occasional visits from nurses to keep tabs on his condition, he was left alone with the two. The initial silence was relatively awkward, but once Kaido had broken the silence things livened up a bit.However, Yuuji did end up shedding a few tears when Kaido had begun to pour his heart out about how happy he was that the 3 were together again. He never thought he’d hear those words come out of his mouth with such sincerity, it almost broke his heart.

Apparently, he’d been in a coma for a little over half of the year. It saddened him thinking about just how much of his life he’d lost, having been in a 2 year coma not long before this one. At the least, this time his friends were by his side when he woke up, and more than happy to help fill the gaps for him.

From what they’d told him, he’d missed Yuka’s 18th birthday that they held here in his hospital room. He did have a vague memory of hearing Kaido singing her ‘Happy Birthday’ and the sound of a smoke alarm going off shortly after. He wasn’t sure what made them think bringing a birthday cake was a good idea, let alone lighting candles, or how they’d even gotten inside in the first place.

The two of them had rented out an apartment, each getting their own jobs. Yuka had been able to secure a job at a patisserie, and Kaido at a repair shop fixing people’s ships. He wasn’t exactly sure when either of them had picked up their respective trades, but he was proud of them, regardless. Going so far on their own made him happy, especially considering just how lost the 3 of them were when they’d met. 

In the middle of one of Kaido’s in depth rants about a customer and how awfully they’d treated their ship, the doctor from earlier came in, causing Kaido to scoff. “What? Here to try and kick us out again?”

Yuuji frowned, squeezing his hand and whispering a chastising, “Kaido,” before turning to the doctor and smiling warily. “I’m sorry, he’s just worked up.”

Luckily, the man just smiled nervously, making a dismissive gesture, “No, it’s alright, I understand how you all must feel. I’m just here to speak with Mr. Kiba about things moving forward. Seeing as how you’re as close to family as he has, I think you should all be here for this.”

Yuuji watched the man make his rounds around the room, taking note of his attire. From the back at a quick glance, he looks fine, but after looking closer he noticed how strange his fashion sense was for lack of a better word. He didn’t see doctors wearing bright red skinny jeans to work often, nor did he see them wearing T-shirts under their lab coats. Well, he did look a bit young, but he certainly seemed older than anyone else in the room. Did this fall under dress code? Eventually, the man pulled over a chair and sat down. “My name is Hojo Emu, I’ll be looking after you while you’re here. Sorry for such a late introduction.”

“Ah, you’re…” Yuuji started, trailing off a bit. He was relatively certain that when he was initially saved, this man was one of the ones who helped transport him here. He’d went under an alias, but what that alias was, Yuuji couldn’t remember.

The man’s eyes widened a bit, a small, almost startled chuckle coming from his lips. “Yes, I’m M. I’m surprised you remembered me, you were falling unconscious again once I’d gotten to you.”

Right, M. A strange choice if he was trying to throw people off his trail, but maybe having such an obvious one would fall under the radar.

Emu continued, “I’m sure your friends have filled you in on what’s happened since with Smart Brain, so I-”

“Something happened involving Smart Brain since then?” He’d almost immediately cut Emu off, “I haven’t heard a word about it.” He looked at Yuka and Kaido, frowning at the apprehensive expressions on their faces. “What happened?”

The silence in the room was unbearable, only made worse having to hear every gulp, every breath, every slight movement made. Not a word was spoken until Yuuji sighed, just looking at Emu, urging him to continue despite how hesitant the man looked.

“Well, not long after you fell into your coma, Smart Brain was broken into, and the Faiz, Kaixa, and Delta belts were taken and scattered overnight. No one knows just who has them, and now Smart Brain has issued a galaxy wide search for them. Orphnochs are flooding into every planet in search of them, and word is that the Faiz belt has been located, but hasn’t been taken back. Whoever has it is putting up a good fight.”

The revelation left Yuuji stunned. Smart Brain, a company whose reach spans through the galaxy, who’s constantly under heavy supervision, managed to get breached to such a degree? And in a single day, even? Something like that seemed impossible, even accounting for a possible insider pulling the strings. “So whoever has Faiz has even kept the Lucky Clover at bay?”

Emu simply nodded, pulling out a tablet and beginning to tap away at it. “They managed to defeat Mr. J not long ago. As far as I’ve heard, they’ve been actively searching for a replacement since.”

“They’re incredible… To do this on their own, though… Is that really possible? Is there really no knowledge on the locations of the other belts?” Yuuji slowly asked. For one person to shoulder this kind of burden on their own was to weigh themself down to their inevitable breaking point. Putting yourself alone under the scrutiny of so many people was just too cruel. It was an unbreakable curse if you failed.

Throughout the conversation, he’d noticed Kaido and Yuka sharing frantic glances every time something crucial was said. At first, he’d assumed they just felt guilty for not saying anything, but eventually Kaido cut in. “Hey, Kiba, don’t even think about it. This isn’t your problem to deal with.” His tone was surprisingly firm considering it was Kaido talking. He never seemed to take anything seriously, and yet here he was, trying to shut down an idea that hadn’t even fully formed yet.

“Kaido, we’re talking about an attempt to eradicate humanity being combated by a single person-- There’s no world where that’s possible. This could be the only chance people like us get to fight back, just because you don’t want to doesn’t mean-”

“But we were finally reunited!” Yuka desperately grabbed at Yuuji’s arm, tears already streaming down her cheeks. “If we lose you again so soon... I’ll… I…” He hadn’t even realized she’d started to cry, and by the looks of it Kaido hadn’t either. It ripped at his heart to see the two so torn up about this, but his heart was only becoming more and more set on the idea as the seconds passed.

He let out a shaky sigh, feeling the tears from earlier threatening to come back up. He couldn’t bear to watch Yuka sob into his arm, so he gently pulled her into a hug, lightly stroking her hair. He’d had moments like this with her before, when she’d open up about her past, or a pile of problems that had stacked far too high and had taken her down with them. But this was the first time he’d ever truly seen her so shaken up when it concerned him. He knew she cared about him, but he wasn’t always sure it was to this extent.

And it was especially surprising to see on Kaido’s part. It was no secret that the two always butted heads, and he’d always assumed that underneath Kaido’s eccentricities and behind the walls he’d placed around himself, there was a special kind of love there. To be this worried, though… There was no way Yuka would have come up with the plan to keep this all a secret, and as far as Yuuji could tell, there especially was no way Kaido would have gone through with it if it was just because Yuka was scared to see him go. Covering this much up so that the three could be safe together, it really must have meant that his love for the two wasn’t as reserved as he’d thought. 

Yuuji watched Kaido lightly pat Yuka's back, noticing how he refused to look him in the eyes. He let out another sigh before extending one of his arms, “Kaido, come here.” The hesitant look in his eyes only made him soften up more. It was like he was looking at a child who’d gotten caught lying about his report card. “I’m not mad, you had your reasons.” And when Kaido launched into his arms, he couldn’t help but chuckle fondly, patting at both of their heads. 

He shot the doctor an apologetic smile, not exactly having expected this much of a scene to occur, but the man just smiled back, simply shaking his head and handing him a handkerchief. He was confused by it at first before he realized his face was wet with tears. He really should be noticing that…

The best course of action was to let the tension die down, he decided. This was far too important a decision to just spring on them while they were still wiping their tears. “Dr. Hojo… How long would you say it would take me to recover enough to be discharged?”

“Hrm… Well, the damage you sustained was particularly bad considering your coma, but your regenerative abilities should be enhanced. It’s only an estimate, but...hmm, about two weeks?”

“Then, how about over those weeks, we discuss this? It’s clearly something important for all three of us, so we need to take some time to think about this.” Two weeks to come to a compromise may be stretching it, but this was a plan Yuuji needed to figure out fast. Just thinking about the struggles that Faiz’s user was probably going through made his stomach turn.

And so, Yuuji’s recovery period was spent planning. The estimated two weeks that Dr. Hojo had come up with ended up being about a month, but it was more than enough time to come to an agreement. 

The hardest thing he’d had to come to terms with was that there was no way he could bring Yuka and Kaido with him. The two were leading their own lives, and living in relative prosperity. It was inevitable that he’d end up under Smart Brain’s radar eventually, so it was better for them to stay in hiding. He’d come to visit whenever he deemed it safe, and if they crossed paths somehow he’d enjoy their company.

His first priority had to be finding Faiz, Kaixa, or Delta. According to Dr. Hojo, there was word that Smart Brain had undergone procedures to have Orphnochs infiltrate planets to gather reconnaissance to use in a possible war, so recovering the belts and informing those in authority on each planet was crucial. If he was going to protect others, this was his best chance. But if he was going to do something of this scale, he’d need protection. He didn’t have nearly enough combat experience to protect himself from normal humans as it was, if an Orphnoch found him he was a goner. 

Finding someone to guard him for an indefinite amount of time would probably be difficult, especially if it was to interfere with war plans. He managed to find a job board not far from the hospital full of requests for hire, actively being surveyed by citizens. After writing down the addresses that were left from the crowd, he decided to scope the various places out. He’d written down about ten to look through, all relatively close together, but seven of the ten had already been full of patrons. The last two were your run of the mill guild bases, but the last one was definitely the most interesting. Of all the places to hire a mercenary…

A laundromat?


End file.
